So Close, Yet So Far
by Kelsica2
Summary: A new girl in the mall has caught Jude's eye, but he knows he can never have her. Of course he couldn't. Not with HIM getting in the way... Jude/OC
1. Meeting the New Girl

Well, here's my feeble attempt at a JudexOC fic. I know, original, right?

…_But everybody else is doing it!_

**If everybody else jumped off a cliff, would you?!**

… _yes._

This fic will be in a bunch of the characters' POV's, especially Jude's and the OC's

Well, I hope you guys like it. I wrote this chapter quite a while back, like a year ago, but I finally decided to revive the whole fic idea. What could go wrong, right?

I hope you guys like! Please review and tell me whether not I should continue! Enjoy!

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**Jude's POV**

Today started out as a pretty average Saturday, dude. Woke up late and got ready. I'm pretty sure I brushed my teeth. I went to the mall, of course. I had the day off from the ice rink, so I was just gonna goof off and chill with my friends.

Until I met her.

She's just like… whoa. She's the coolest bra I've ever met. She doesn't obsess over stupid stuff, like whet her or not it would be totally gross to eat chicken wings in front of a guy. Caitlin once said she would never do that in a million years. I don't get the big deal. Dude, that's what wet wipes were invented for! 'Sides, she still looks awesome even when she's covered in barbeque sauce. I'm not saying it's, like, love at first sight or anything, 'cause that's really lame. I'm just saying she's a cool friend. And who knows? Maybe (someday) we could be more than friends.

Too bad we can't be more than that, if I ever wanted to, that is.

I guess I should, like, explain what I'm talking about. Um… let's see… I talked about brushing my teeth, the ice rink, chicken wings… I'll just start at what happened around 11 AM.

I stepped inside the entrance of the Galleria Mall, threw my skateboard down on the ground and scoped for a potential obstacle course. (Whoa, my old English teacher, Mrs. Lambert, would be proud. I just used the word 'scoped' correctly in a sentence. Awesome!) I finally found a mom with a million wild little dudes and dudettes running all over the place. So I was all like, "Moving obstacles? Sweeeet."

I hopped onto my board and pushed off. I kept thinking, Okay, Jude, just relax. No big deal if you run over one of 'em. Lady's got plenty to spare…I got to the first kid, some little red-headed dude, and dodged him pretty easily. Probably because he was standing and looking at a bug he found on the floor. So far, so good. The next few were a little more challenging. These guys must have been playing tag or something, 'cause they were running around like crazy! But somehow, I managed not to plow into them. Their mom looked kinda mad, though. I guess she was hoping I'd kill one of them to lighten her load a bit.

I was so stoked to have made it through that I wasn't really paying attention to the upcoming pole. Um… you can guess what happened next.

So there I was, lying on the ground in agonizing (That one was for you, too, Mrs. Lambert.) pain. My board was a few feet away, but I was hurt too bad to stand up and get it. A few people walked by, pretending they didn't notice me. Most people just pointed and laughed at me. Somebody even threw a banana peel at me, man! But then, she came.

She was way concerned, even though she had no idea who I was. She kneeled down, waved her hand in front of my half-opened eyes, and said, "Are you okay?"

I opened my eyes and saw my "savior." She had long black ponytails and practically flawless skin (That zit on her chin wasn't THAT noticeable). Not skinny, not fat, but somewhere in between. She looked Mexican… or Puerto Rican or Filipino or Peruvian or I don't know! I just knew she was Hispanic. She had a small dimple on her chin and tried to smile at me a little, letting me know she was hoping that I was okay.

To sum things up, Mystery Girl was a total Betty.

"Hello? Hello? Are you alive?"

I sat u p, rubbing my head and said, "Yeah, I'm fine… whoever I am." She looked really freaked out, so I quickly added, "I was kidding, bra! Sorry."

Mystery Girl laughed as she stood up and said, "Very funny, man. Next time you crash into something, maybe I'll just ignore you!" She held her hand out, and I thankfully grabbed it. She helped pull me to my feet and leaned down to grab my skateboard. "You might want to start looking where you're going. Either that or you should consider investing in a helmet." She handed it to me as she gave me a small smirk.

She stood staring at me for a few seconds and then looked down at her left hand. I looked down too and realized that I hadn't l et go of her hand yet! Man, I am such an idiot!! My hand quickly let go of hers and dropped to my side. I didn't mean to keep holding it! I figured she'd think I was a big freak or something and run away, but for some reason, she kept talking to me.

"My name's Becca, by the way." I should have realized who she was when she told me her name. Sometimes it takes a while for me to sink things in. I mean, like, forever.

"Oh, I'm Jude," I said as coolly as I could. "Are you new around here? I don't think I've ever seen you around before."

"I used to live a few blocks away from here with my parents and older brother, but when I was 10, my parents got divorced and I had to move with my mom to Ottawa. We just moved back Thursday! I'm so excited to see my brother again! Of course I've seen him since then, but just for a little while and… Oh, I'm sorry. I hardly even know you and I'm boring you with my life story..."

"No, no, it's cool! It kinda reminds me of what happened to my best friend. Same thing happened to his sister. He misses her like crazy."

"Really?" she said, totally interested. "Hmm… That's a coincidence."

"So… where you headin'? This is a pretty big mall. It's kinda tricky to find your way 'round when you're new."

"Um, I'm just looking around. I used to come to this mall a lot, but most of the stores have changed since then. Is there a directory somewhere around here?"

"Ch'ya! There's one right here!" I pointed to myself and grinned. After putting my hand down, I proudly said, "I know this mall like the back of my hand…" Then I took a second glance at something on my middle knuckle. "What the heck is that?" I scraped it off and licked my finger. "Never mind. It's just ketchup."

Becca started laughing again. Her nose kinda wrinkles when she laughs. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"

"No problemo! I normally meet my friends at the Big Squeeze around this time, but they'll understand. 'Sides, I kinda owe you. You saved my life and all…" She started to laugh again and we both headed towards the East Wing. "So… see anything you wanna check out?"

"Um…" Becca looked at all the stores and then pointed toward El Sporto's. "Want I really want to do is get something to eat! Have you had lunch yet?"

I remembered that I was totally hungry, too, so I said, "No, I'm starving. This place has the best food, bra!" We went inside and sat in an empty booth. Wait, that was sort of a stupid thing to say. Of course we sat in an empty booth! If we sat in somebody else's booth, they'd get mad and make us get our own booth. Forget I said that. But still, we sat down.

"Are the chicken wings good here, Jude?" I looked up from my menu and at her. A chick willing to eat chicken wings in front of a dude? That's exactly what I was talking about before! SHE'S AWESOME!!!!

But I wasn't gonna say that out loud, so I said, "Yeah, but the whole plate's kinda big."

"You wanna split it?"

"Sure!" And for the next hour, we just… talked. Normally when I talk to a chick I barely know, I start to get bored and my eyes glaze over, but I actually listened to Becca. She doesn't go on and on about her hair or cramps or whatever most girls bore guys about. She's really down to earth and cool. She told me about her life and I told her about mine. She's into art and plays bass guitar, which is wicked. She said she thinks skate boarding's cool. Like I said before, awesome!

When we were done with our wings, the waitress brought us some wet wipes. No offence to Becca or anything, but she's kind of a slob. She had sauce all over her face, like, on her nose and cheeks and everything. She wiped off her fingers, and most of her face, but missed a place on the tip of her nose.

"Uh…" I pointed at her nose and said, "You missed a spot, bra."

She giggled a little bit and wiped it off. "Thanks." She pulled some money out of her pocket and laid it down on the table. "You were right, Jude. Those were awesome!" Getting up, she said, "You said you had to meet your friends sometime soon?"

I put my half of the bill (and the tip, being the totally wicked gentleman I am) on the table, got up and said, "They're all probably at work by now."

Becca made this really sad face. "Oh, sorry…"

I didn't want her to feel bad, because she shouldn't have felt bad, so I shook my head and said, "No, it's cool! I can just go see them later. I think one of my friends actually just got a new job right across from here. You wanna meet him?"

Her sad face turned into a happy one and she said, "Really? Sure!" We walked out and across the hall. I took another good look at her on the way there. I noticed that one of her eyebrows always seems to be cocked up… It reminded me of someone… I just couldn't put my finger on it…

Jonesy told me yesterday that he got yet another new job, this time at Trixie's Yo-Yo Shop. Don't know how he scored that one, though. He has the yo-yo skills of a paraplegic guy. Maybe he doesn't have to know how to WORK yo-yos. Maybe he just needs to know how to put them on shelves. He'll figure out a way to screw it up by the end of the day.

When we finally got there, I looked around for him. I figured he couldn't have gotten fired in just a few hours (but this is JONESY we're talking about, so who knows…), so I wondered where he was. Becca interrupted my thoughts by saying, "Where's your friend?"

"I dunno. Um… stay here. I'll try to find him." She nodded, turned to one of the shelves and started to browse through the yo-yos. I moved farther back into the store until I found behind the counter. It seemed like he was looking for someone. I was hoping he wasn't hottie hunting. He's still dating Nikki! Maybe Nikki made him get a job here. I doubt he's gonna find a cute girl at a yo-yo store. Then again, Becca's here, so touché to me.

"Duuuuude!" I walked up to the counter and held my fist out to my best friend.

Jonesy looked up at me, grinned and said, "Juuuude!"

We did our usual handshake and I said, "What's up?"

"Not much, but I got a weird text a few hours ago."

"Really? Who from?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't recognize the number, so it could be anyone."

"What was weird about it?"

"It said I should look around today for someone special. Oh, man. What if it's Lydia? She could have gotten a new cell phone so I wouldn't recognize her number!" Jonesy went into panic mode and ducked under the counter. A few seconds later, the top of his head peeked out so he could still look around. "I can't handle her obsessing over me again, man! I just can't!"

"But she's going out with Wayne again, remember?"

Thinking for a few seconds, he stood back up and said, "True. But then, who's it from?"

I shrugged. "Beats me, dude." I remembered that Becca was waiting for us and said, "Oh hey, speaking of chicks, and by that I mean non-creepy ones, I met this totally awesome girl today!"

"Really? All right, man!" He gave me a high- five and grinned. "Did you, ya know…" His eyebrow cocked up when he said the last part of this sentence, "Get anywhere yet?"

"Slow down, dude. I just met the chick! 'Sides, I'm not sure if I like her like that yet. Right now, she's just an awesome friend."

His grin kinda faded, but he still said, "Oh." He shrugged. "Well, I guess that's cool, too."

"Yeah, and I kinda promised her I'd introduce her to you, so are you too busy?"

Jonesy looked around. There were, like, three customers in the store. Unsurprisingly, yo-yos aren't very popular nowadays.

"Nope. Let's go." He sat up on the counter, slid over to the side I was on, and got down. "Where is she?"

"I think she was in this aisle…" We walked over to where I left Becca, but she wasn't there. "Hello? Bra?" I called out, but no answer. "She's gotta be here somewhere."

"It can't be that hard to find her." Jonesy looked around again. "This dump is a ghost town. What does she look like?"

"Well, she's-" But I stopped because I saw her walking up behind Jonesy, eyes happily closed.

"Hey, Jude. Sorry that I-" Becca bumped into Jonesy's back and both let out a small grunt. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry, si-" Jonesy turned around and Becca opened her eyes.

Jonesy's eyes got all wide, but he broke out in a big grin, which was really weird, since, at that moment in time, I thought he had never met Becca. "Becca?"

Becca copied his expression. "Jonesy?" She made this happy squealing noise and wrapped her arms around him and him doing the same to her, laughing and hugging each other like crazy. Jonesy lifted her up to his eye level, since she only reaches his chest, so he could get a better look at her. The way she smiled at him…

At that moment, I knew who she was.

That smile.

That dimple.

That cocked eyebrow.

It was so familiar.

Becca…

No way.

The only girl that cared if I was hurt when I fell, the only girl who would eat a platter of chicken wings in front of me, the only girl willing to go into a lame yo-yo shop with me just so she could meet my friend was-

Becca noticed that I was staring at them and asked, still in Jonesy's death grip, "Oh, Jude, do you know my brother?"

Dude, I have the worst luck.

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Oh, snap! Becca is Jonesy's little sister! No Jude can never date her!!! :C

I hope it turned out okay. It's hard writing in Jude's POV. He's way too… chill! XP

And this fic is a bit AU, since Jonesy's brothers don't exist. I wrote this before I ever saw an episode with them in it, so… yeah… bye bye Diego and Robbie. :C


	2. Reunited And It Feels So Good

I'm sorry for not answering many reviews. I just got back from a trip and it's been hectic lately. And there are still some stories you have asked me to review. I'll get around to those either later this afternoon or sometime tomorrow.

Well, Becca meets the gang in this chappie. So that'll be fun :D

Oh, and here's a drawing I made of Becca, If you're interested in knowing what she looks like. Just take away the spaces: http:// themightypen. deviantart .com /art/ 6teen-Becca-Garcia-123612205

Enjoy! :3

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So it turns out that Becca was the mystery texter. Her mom got her a new cell phone before the big move, one with a new number that Jonesy didn't recognize.

I couldn't believe how totally stupid I had been. It was only four years ago, the last time I saw her.

I mean, sure, she had changed a lot. After all, last time I saw her, she was ten. And she did have braces. And she had freckles. And she was chubby.

And now here she was; slimmer, freckle-free, and no braces in sight.

As if it wasn't bad enough that she was my best friend's little sister, she was also fourteen, while I was seventeen. That's kind of a big age difference. It's like a newborn baby dating a three year old… Which is creepy.

"I can't believe I didn't recognize you, Jude!" Becca exclaimed, walking between me and Jonesy. "I mean, you've only been Jonesy's best friend since, like, forever!"

"Yeah, I know whatcha mean, bra," I said, scratching the back of my head. "You've been Jonesy's sister since… uh, the day you were born."

She laughed again, then stopped and looked in a nearby store window. There were some wicked looking bass guitars in the display. "Ooooh…" A girl with shoulder-length flippy blonde hair sat another one in a free stand, and it looked like Becca recognized her, 'cause she got this weird look on her face. She ran into the music shop, yelling, "Be right back, guys!" over her shoulder.

"Soooo…" I started, leaning against a railing. "Becca's back, huh?"

"Yeah, Mom got transferred back here." He took a spot next to me and said, "I just didn't know they were coming home so early."

"Yeah, ehehehe…" I clutched by board tightly, pretending it was my own throat. "Bet the gang will be happy to see her again."

"Yeah, she was never really that annoying." He scratched his head and added, "Well, at least as far as sisters go…" I could see Becca running up to the girl in the window and when the girl saw her, she screamed and practically glomped Becca. Jonesy looked away from their squealiness and back at me. "But it's kinda funny how she found you like that, even though she didn't recognize you. She always did like you best out of the gang."

"Really?!" I perked up a lot, probably looking really weird.

Jonesy's face showed me that I had. "Uh… Yeah..." He looked at the clock on his cell phone and asked, "Man, what's taking her so long? Haven't she and what's-her-face been screaming long enough?"

Some big, hairy guy came out and started yelling at the blonde girl, probably telling her to get back to work. Must have been Blondie's boss. Becca looked scared of the guy, so she waved to her friend and walked back out again. "Sorry 'bout that, guys. Just saw an old friend."

Jonesy stared at the girl, like he was starting to recognize her, too. "Wait, isn't that Maureen?" Becca nodded and Jonesy said, "I remember her." He shook his head. "Man, she was annoying!"

Becca shoved him as we kept walking. "Shut up! You two barely even ever talked to each other."

"Yeah, and everything she ever said to me was obnoxious…"

She stuck her tongue out at him and, when she stopped and turned around, pointed at something. "Whoa, I don't remember _that_ thing…" She was pointing at the Big Squeeze, and it looked like everybody was on their lunch breaks, except Jen.

"Cool, the gang's all here," I said, grabbing her hand and dragging her over to the Lemon. Jonesy followed us.

When we got there, everybody sort of looked at me weird, since I was still kinda holding her hand. And they probably didn't recognize her either. "Hey, dudes! Guess who's back!"

I let go of her hand and she waved at everybody. They blinked. Still didn't recognize her, I guess. Wyatt leaned over to Nikki and tried to whisper, "Who the heck is that?" but I could still hear him.

Jonesy finally reached the table, and stood next to Becca. I guess when she got next to her brother, they recognized her, 'cause Wyatt and Nikki smiled, cried, "Becca!" and got up to hug her. Even Nikki, who usually isn't very touchy-felly. But after not seeing someone for four years, you'd be touchy-felly too, right?

"I can't believe it's really you!" Nikki said, hugging her right after Wyatt. "You've changed so much in the past few years."

"I could say the same for you," she said, batting a strand of her purple hair. "Love the rods and rings, too."

"Well, hope you just like to look at 'em," Jonesy smirked, taking his place by Nikki's side. "'cause you're never going to get that done to your face."

Becca rolled her eyes and grinned. "Yeah, yeah. I know, _Dad_," she teased.

He held his hand up defensively, letting his free hand rest on his girlfriend's shoulder. "I'm just saying, not everybody can pull it off like my girl does." He grinned down at Nikki, who just rolled her eyes and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Caitlin, who had been surprisingly quiet, finally spoke up and half-yelled, "What's going on? What am I missing here?!"

"Oh, that's right," Jonesy mumbled. "You two haven't met yet." He guided Becca over to the Lemon and introduced her. "This is my little sis, Becca. Becca, this is my friend, Caitlin."

"Oh, yeah. Hi!" Caitlin waved. "I remember Jonesy talking about you. You just moved back to town with your mom, right?"

She nodded. "Mmhmm. Nice to meet you." She looked around. "Where's Jen?"

Caitlin looked down at the watch that somehow magically appeared on her wrist. Has she always worn a watch? Why have _I_ never noticed? "Oh, she should be back in a few minutes. Probably finishing lunch."

And, like on cue, Jen came back, still in her Penalty Box uniform. When Becca saw her, she screamed, "Hey, step-sis!"

Jen, who had seemed sort of oblivious to her standing there, smiled and yelled, "Becca!" They hugged each other, all giggly and stuff. "I can't believe you got packed up and moved here so quickly! It's been soooo long since I've seen you!"

"I know! Your family's visits to Ottawa every couple of months just haven't been enough!"

"_My_ family?" Jen pulled away from her, still smiling. "Hey, it's _our_ family!"

"I know, it just doesn't feel like it, since I barely get to see you guys."

"Don't worry," Jen put an arm around her shoulder. "When the baby's born, we'll all be spending plenty of time together."

Becca smiled. "Yeah, I can't wait! How far along is Emma again?"

"About seven months, so she'll be coming soon."

"Yep, hooray," Jonesy sarcastically added. "Another chick in the house."

"Oh, shut up, Jonesy." Jen told him, letting Becca go. "Your smelly cousins Robbie and Diego are always staying over, so it's not like it's always just you and your dad. Besides, Courtney moved out a month ago, so me, my mom and Constance are going to be the only girls hanging around."

"Yeah, but still… Wait, who's Constance?"

"The new baby. But we'll probably call her Connie for short."

"Since when is she named _Constance_?" He laughed, clutching his gut. "What kind of stupid name is that?"

"My mom and I like that name! Do you have a better one for her, Mr. Name Expert?" she asked angrily.

"I sure do, it's-" Jonesy was interrupted when Wyatt jolted up and yelled, "Whoa, I have to get to work!" He grabbed his coffee and ran off, waving to us all.

"I'd better get back to the Crappy Barn." She left and waved. "See you around, Becca."

"And I'm late for a pedicure!" She took of her lame hat, closed the Lemon and said, "Bye, guys! Bye, Becca!" as she ran toward the spa.

"Man, I guess I'd better go, too." Jen sighed. "Coach'll kill me if I'm late again. And I'm seriously tired of always getting stuck in that stupid penalty box every time I blink. We'll have to catch up later, Becca." She walked back to the Penalty Box. "Later!"

Only Jonesy, Becca and I were left. "Jonesy, were you on break when you left?" Becca asked, breaking the silence.

He was quiet for a while, then slapped his forehead. Guess he wasn't. "Crap. Looks like I'm gonna get fired. Again." He sighed. "Might as well go and get it over with." He looked back at me. "Jude, you've got the day off, right? Can Becca tag along with you?"

"Jonesy," Becca began, looking like she didn't want to bother me. "I don't want to be even more of a bother to him than I already have been and-" I was right.

"Naw, it's cool, dudette," I insisted, setting my skateboard on the table. "My day'll be pretty boring without someone to chill with. I'd be stoked for some company!"

"Really?" She grinned that toothy grin that made my knees feel all tingly. "Awesome!" She linked arms with me, and we started walking off. It's really cool how she's so comfortable with waved at Jonesy and yelled over her shoulder, "Good luck with the firing, bro!"

When we were out of the food court, she let me go and asked, "Whaddya want to do, Jude?"

I shrugged. "Up to you, bra. I am your humble servant for the day." I did a fancy-pants bow, which made Becca laugh again.

Heck, if I can never, ever go out with her, at least I can be her goofy friend. And I'm cool with that.

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You guys knew I wouldn't leave Robbie and Diego hangin', right?

Next chapter will be Jude and Becca's day together, in Becca's POV.

Please review and tell me what you think!


	3. A Little Fun with Popcorn

Another chapter! Sorry it took so long. I've got so many other things on my To Do list… But I hope you like! Please review and tell me what you think!

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**Becca's POV**

Wow.

Just… Wow.

Weird day.

I help this random dude out, not expecting much in return except maybe a small thank you. In return, he was more than super friendly to me, showing me around the mall, and even going out to lunch with me and introducing me to his best friend… Who happened to be my older brother.

C'mon, that's the kind of stuff that only happens on TV.

I couldn't believe it was Jude. I couldn't believe it was _that_ Jude! I thought that overly-chill personality seemed familiar, but Jude sure had changed physically in the past four years.

Or, I don't know, maybe he had just changed in my eyes.

Four years ago, he was just my brother's best friend. Just this guy who was always hanging around the house and eating all of our toaster pastries. Now he's actually kind of…

… Attractive.

No, no, no! Stop! He's Jonesy's best friend, I can't have a crush on him! That's just creepy, Bec…

Oh, what am I thinking? He's _three_ years older than me. Like he's even slightly interested in me. I'm just some little art geek, and he's a… a… a _junior_!

But still, he at least wants to be friends. Otherwise, he wouldn't have seemed so eager to hang out with me. And that's cool.

"So, does a movie sound good?" I asked Jude as we kept walking along. I remembered seeing a movie theater around there. The mall in Ottawa didn't have a movie theater in it. Heck, it wasn't even half as big as the Galleria Mall! The mall back there didn't even have a Nice Cinna-Buns! And I just can't get enough of their Pecan Swirlers! They're so pecanariffic…

Oops. Got off subject.

"Sure! I know an awesome flick we can see," Jude said. "It's a long walk," he commented, dropping his board on the ground. "It's faster on wheels."

"Oh, I bet it is," I shyly agreed, looking down at my feet. I really need to get some new sneakers. My old pink and green ones are starting to look kinda ratty. "But I don't really have a board…"

He put one foot on it and calmly grinned. "No prob, bra. I'm cool with sharing."

I felt like all the blood in my body was rushing up to my cheeks, making my knees feel weak. I mean, the board was kinda tiny. In order for both of us to fit on it, I'd have to practically… cling to him.

I totally want to but…

Oh, crap. Um… Ignore that, please.

"Oh, um, okay…" I awkwardly got on the skateboard behind him, instinctively wrapping my arms around his torso as to not fly off the back when he took off.

"You ready?" he asked, apparently not minding my sorta-kinda hug.

I nodded. Then, realizing he couldn't see me, I said, "Ready," and braced myself.

He started pumping the board forward slowly, probably so I wouldn't be too afraid, since he knew I've never really had any experience with skateboarding.

Or maybe I'm such a fatty fatty two by four that my giant butt was weighing him down and he couldn't go as fast as he says he usually does.

I hope it's the first one.

It was actually pretty fun. Not exactly a thrill rush, since he was going kinda slow, but we were still going a lot faster than the pedestrians around us. Speaking of them, most of them were staring at us. T couldn't have been because we were skateboarding outside of a skateboard park, since I've seen a ton of teens cruising around the Galleria on their boards. They must have been wondering what Jude was doing with me. They probably thought I was some sort of secret girlfriend or something…

During lunch, he told me about how he spends most of his time at the mall, so he's pretty much a local legend around these parts. I, being practically new in town, was unknown. I saw a group of Goths staring at him, one in particular looking extra confused.

Jude must have known her, because he waved and yelled, "Sup, Starr!", apparently to the confused looking one. Once we got to the theater, he screeched to a halt, making my front dig farther into his back, and making me practically faint from the feeling of his firm butt cheeks on my crotch.

Ew. That sounded beyond gross.

Jude put a foot out to get off, but stopped. "Uh… Bec?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you let me go, dudette?"

I gasped, realizing I hadn't let go, and unwrapped my arms from his torso. I mumbled a quiet apology, which he must not have heard, because he didn't respond. We stepped off and he grabbed his skateboard.

We walked to the ticket booth, and Jude got our tickets. He even paid for mine. That was sweet…

But, so I wouldn't feel like a complete mooch, I paid for the popcorn and pop. We walked into theater nine, where our movie was supposed to be playing, but Jude still wouldn't tell me the name of the movie. "Please, just tell me, Jude!"

"No, it's a surprise!"

"Jude, please tell me it's not some slasher movie…" I nervously settled into my seat, taking a sip of my Mountain Mist. "Horror movies really freak me out."

"No worries, bra," he calmly said, stuffing his mouth full of popcorn. "You're gonna have fun…"

Finally, the movie started. The title flashed on the screen in big, red letters. "The Romance Sage?" I scoffed and said, "No offence or anything, Jude, but I heard that this movie was terrible."

"So did I," he replied, grabbing his Dr. Spice. "Just you wait…"

* * *

Turns out Jude was right. I did have a ton of fun! He didn't want to see that movie to _see_ it, you see. Sounds confusing, right? I was confused when he first told me.

When I bought our popcorn, he had asked me to get a big tub. I had thought he was just really hungry. Which, now that I think about it, doesn't make much sense since we had just finished off an entire plate of wings about an hour ago. He wanted to use the popcorn for throwing. At the screen, whenever a bad joke was told, to be specific.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Lame and immature, right? I actually tried to get Jude to stop so we wouldn't get kicked out. He then pestered me until I would give it a shot. Reluctantly, I grabbed a handful of corn and launched it at the screen, yelling, "Say something funny!" just to get him to leave me alone about it. And strangely enough…

It was fun.

So I did it again. And it felt even better the second time. Laughing, I did it a third time, and Jude joined me.

Now, I never do stuff like that. I may not care much about what people think of me, but I do care about following the rules. And I know for a fact that yelling and throwing salty snack foods is against the rules in a movie theater. But the weird thing is…

I didn't care.

Jude must have spiked my pop when I wasn't looking. He spiked it with some elixir that made me act like a buffoon, like my brother. But at the moment, I didn't really care if he had done that, either.

We kept doing that until this guy in a red vest shined a flashlight in my face and told us to leave. On some sort of adrenaline high, I threw a fistful of popcorn into his face, causing both me and Jude to go into hysterics and causing the red vest guy to physically make us leave the theater, the rest of the people in the theater cheering him on as he shoved us out the door. Jude and I were rolling around on the floor laughing by that point.

"Jude, you were so right!" I giggled, helping him get up on his feet. "That's the most fun I've had in, like, forever!"

"What did I tell you?" Jude asked, getting on his board. "We might not be allowed here for a while, but it was totally worth it…"

"For sure," I agreed, nodding and hopping on the back of it, wrapping my arms around him once again. We took off, a little faster this time. Or maybe my pure delight just made everything feel faster…

* * *

We came back to the Big Squeeze, Cathy no where in sight. Wait, was it Catie? Or Callie? Meh, I'll remember later… But I only saw Jonesy sitting at the table, sulking and drinking some sort of fancy lemonade.

I jumped off the board and walked over to him. "Hey, bro. Why the long face?"

He sighed and said, "I got fired. Again." He slammed his head on the table a few times, giving me a teensy headache. "But what's up with you and Jude?" I looked at myself, and Jude, who had just walked up next to me, and saw that popcorn was stuck in our hair. "You look like the floor of the movie theater barfed on your guys."

"Dude, you missed out on a seriously righteous time," Jude told him, in his usual mellow tone.

Jonesy's face looked even sadder now. "Oh, don't tell me you went Popcorn Throwing without me!"

Hmm. I didn't know it had a name. Must be a local thing.

"Man, you should have seen Becca hurl that corn, girl's an expert," Jude said, slinging an arm around my shoulder and making me turn several shades of red, not only from the compliment, but from the feeling of his strong arm around me. "You'd never know it was her first time."

"You mean _you_ did it, too?" Jonesy asked, standing up and looking at me, surprised. He knew that I'm somewhat of a stickler for the rules, so my new found rebelliousness must have shocked him.

"You bet!" Jude exclaimed, letting me go. Darn it. "And when some dude who worked there tried to make us leave, she nailed him in the face! It was awesome!"

He looked down at me. "Seriously?" I nodded with a small, yet ashamed smile on my face. I wasn't really expecting Jonesy to pull me into a hug. But he did. "I'm so proud of you, sis. Now I'm _sure_ we're related!"

I just rolled my eyes. Same old Jonesy…

* * *

And by sage, I mean a mentor in spiritual and philosophical topics who is renowned for profound wisdom. Not the seasoning.

Please review! I love hearing what you all think!


	4. If Jude Was a Movie by Becca Quebeca

I'm sorry it's been a while. I've been busy. But what else is new?

Well, one more chappie in Becca's POV. I'm not quite sure who's next. I just know I'm done with her for now. I hope this chapter isn't too disappointing.

Read, Review, and Enjoy! :3

* * *

**Becca's POV**

After a while, Jonesy had to go somewhere. I think the Khaki Barn or something. I wasn't paying attention. Jude had been helping me pull popcorn out of my hair at the time and I could barely remember to breathe, let alone listen to whatever Jonesy was droning about. So that left me alone with Jude again.

Not that I was exactly heartbroken about that.

I'm acting completely idiotic about this Jude thing. I mean, I've established that he likes me as a friend, but anything else?

…

Well, it actually could be a slight possibility. Maybe.

I mean, in almost all movies with even a smidge of romance in them, the girl crushes on a guy that she believes doesn't like her back. And, in the end, the girl either realizes the guy really does like her just as much as she likes him and they start dating, or the girl dies of leukemia.

With my luck, my life movie will end with the second option.

But still, even if Jude was the boy in the movie, I'd probably just be end up with the role of the cute friend who crushes on him from afar, but never gets him because he's too caught up with some other obvious love interest. He'd fall for her, and I'd be trying to hide my tears as he went on and on about her and whatnot. Then he and the smelly other girl would watch the sunset… fade to black… Then they'd show the credits and play some stupid, happy song.

Wow, this whole spiel is really starting to sound like a Hannah Montana song.

I'm just going to drop the movie metaphors for now…

But even, if by some miracle, Jude really did like me and wanted to go out with me, there'd be one annoying, overprotective thing getting in our way.

And it's name is Jonesy Garcia.

I know it doesn't seem like he'd be, but Jonesy's really protective of me. When I was eight and still lived with Jonesy and my dad, I got a cold on Valentines Day and had to stay home from school. I was so sad about it, since I had miss out on giving valentines to my classmates and receiving them. And I didn't get a pink cupcake.

But there was this boy in my class named Jonah Winters. Probably the most popular boy in class, not to mention the nicest. He was a cute kid, too. Child star worthy, in fact. With his dark black hair and the greenest eyes a kid could have, he would have given Frankie Muniz a run for his money.

Anyways, being the little sweetheart he was, he stopped by my house after school to give me the valentines the class had made for me. I was too sick to get out of bed, so Jonesy answered the door.

I don't know what my brother said or did to him, but Jonah avoided me for the rest of the year. And the year after that. I bet if he knew I was back in town, he'd still avoid me.

But I know, even though he hasn't had many chances to bodyguard me due to our distance, that he'll be as overprotective of me as ever. Especially now that I have girly bits.

He seems perfectly chill about me hanging out with Jude, though. I guess he doesn't really consider him a boy; more like some completely different gender who has no attraction to fourteen year old Hispanic girls.

But if Jude ever did show even the slightest bit of affection to me that went outside of the Friend Zone, he would be a dead man.

"Becca? Bra?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if you wanted to come to Vegan Island with me," Jude repeated.

"You're seriously hungry again?" I asked, laughing a little.

"Nah, I just wanna introduce you to my friend Starr. Though you might want to call her Nebula," he explained as he started walking.

I stood behind for a second, then quietly followed him. "Do we need to ride your board again?"

"Nah, it's pretty close by."

Rats.

"Here we are, Vegan Island!" he told me, gesturing to our destination; a large grass hut near the edge of the food court.

It was a cool-looking place to eat. The hut had the whole island theme to it, which was something I could definitely get into, since it reminded me of the vacations my family took to Hawaii before the big split. The stand looked very cheerful… The girl working there, on the other hand, didn't.

I could go on for hours describing all of the horrific things about her outer appearance. But even I don't have that kind of rambling patience. Lets just say that just looking at the girl made me want to lock myself in my room and slit my wrists while writing crappy poetry.

And usually, only my period makes me want to do that.

It's not like it was the first time I've ever seen a Goth before. Actually, a lot of my friends from Ottawa had been Goths, since they generally are pretty artsy people. Even though my friends' pieces had been more confusing and disturbing than mine, at least we shared a love of art. And my Gothic friends just dressed the part, they didn't really act like it. This girl looked like the real deal.

"Hey, Starr." Jude grabbed my wrist and dragged me over to the scary girl. "What's happening?"

"Jude," Scary Girl started, brows furrowing. "How many times do I have to tell you that that isn't my name anymore?"

"As many times as I've told you that I'm gonna keep calling you by your real name," Jude answered, a little smirk on his face.

Scary Girl sighed, but got something sort of resembling a smile on her face. "You'll never change…"

"Starr, this is my friend, Becca." He shoved me closer to the counter she was behind, since I had practically been hiding behind his back the entire time.

"Hello," she dead-panned, eyeing me. She probably disapproved of my pink long sleeved tee underneath my bright green t-shirt. I normally wear a lot of bright colors, such as those. I actually looked more toned down than usual. "My name is Nebula."

"Hi," I meekly said, not taking my eyes off of her gargoyle lip piercing. I mean, why on Earth would you even want a piercing on your lip, of all places? How does she keep food from getting stuck in that thing? Or perhaps those Goths with lip rings don't eat at all. That would explain why most Goths are bone skinny… But that's a question for another day.

"So…" She looked from me to Jude. "How'd you two meet?"

"She's Jonesy's sister," Jude told her, just as some short, balding man walked up to the counter.

"Excuse me, I'll have the-"

"Silence, mortal," Nebula said, holding an impatient hand up to the poor man. He made a whiny sighing sound and shut his mouth. When she turned back around, she cocked an eyebrow at me. "Why do you keep staring at my mouth?"

I shook my head. I hadn't even realized I was still looking at it. "Oh, I'm sorry… I was just… Um… Nice ring," I muttered, glancing around to avoid the glare from Nebula that I was expecting.

When I looked back at her, she didn't look mad. She actually looked kind of happy. "Oh, thank you. Pandora's Piercings, two for one." She pushed away some hair that had been in front of her ear and revealed a similar gargoyle cartilage piercing.

"Ehe… Cool," I mumbled, looking back at the customer. "Um…" I pointed to him and told her, "I think he's hungry."

"We're all hungry," Nebula mused, looking back to her gloomy self. "Hungry for the bleak nourishment that can only be provided by the great Reaper of Death. Especially those who have not accepted the darkness." I noticed how she looked at me when she said the last part.

Okay, she was just back to creeping me out again. "That's great," I said, trying not look too frightened. By then, the customer was long gone. I don't blame him. "Uh… Jude, weren't we about to go somewhere else?"

"Well…" I was glad to focus on Jude again. He was much more fun to look at then Morticia or whatever her name was. "No, not really."

Gah. If he wasn't so cute, I would have smacked him right then and there. "Yeah, but I just remembered that I have to do something… At the place…With those people… For the thing."

Jude blinked, then nodded understandingly. "Oh, I think I know what you're talking about."

Good thing Jude's kind of dense. "Okay then, let's go… to the place.. With the people… And whatnot." I turned back to the Goth and sheepishly waved. "Nice meeting you, Nebula." We walked off and when we far enough away, I let out a small breath I hadn't known I was holding in and said, "I'm sorry about that, Jude. I just… I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me."

"Nah, she's kinda hard to get to know," Jude reassured me, patting me softly on the back. "She didn't really like the rest of my friends after she turned Goth, either. Once she gets to know you, she'll warm up to you."

"If you say so," I muttered. "How'd you even meet her?"

Jude got silent. I didn't see what was so wrong with that question. "Uh… Well, before she was a Goth… I dated her." Oh. That's what was wrong with it. "She broke up with me, but we're still friends."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"It's cool, Bec. We both just needed to move on. Stuff like that happens."

Before we could say anything else, my new phone vibrated in the pocket of my ripped jeans. I whipped it out and saw that my mom had sent me a text message. She was waiting to pick me up outside by the mall entrance.

I groaned and stuffed the cell phone back into my pocket. I really didn't want to go just then. I had barely even gotten to see Jonesy and Jen! But I knew I couldn't leave my mom waiting for any longer. "I have to go, Jude. Mom's waiting."

Jude looked just as disappointed as I felt. "Oh, that's too bad. You coming here tomorrow though, right?"

I smiled. "I could definitely make that happen."

"Awesome! See you tomorrow, then." And before I knew it, he had wrapped his arms around me and was tightly hugging me.

As I slowly hugged back, I noticed so many things about him that I hadn't noticed before, when we were sharing his skateboard. He was so… soft. And he didn't smell nearly as bad as Jen always told me he did. He smelled pretty good to me. He had this light, yet intoxicating scent I couldn't put my finger on. I guessed it was some sort of cologne. And he was so warm, like a heated teddy bear.

Most girls my age would have melted if this had happened to them… But, being the weirdo I am, I felt absolutely sick.

Why?

Because I knew I'd never be able to have him to myself. I'd just be another supporting character in the movie that is his life.


	5. The One That Involves Lots of Jobs

Okay, I lied. Becca does have a POV in this chapter, during the middle, at least. I just hope having three point of views in one chapter doesn't confuse anybody.

Well, I'm pretty happy with how this came out. It was fun to write, even though there technically isn't any actual romance.

Oh well. Enjoy! And review, if you please :3

* * *

**Jonesy's POV**

It's really awesome to have Becca back. Don't get me wrong, it is. She's the best sister a guy could ask for! Way better than Jen and Courtney, at least… But there's one tiny detail I sort of forgot about her since the first move…

"Can I borrow ten bucks, Jonesy?"

Yeah. _That_.

I picked Becca up this morning to take her to the mall, since Mom had to work. That was the first thing she asked when she got in my car.

"No! What do you need ten bucks for?"

She buckled her seatbelt and shrugged. "I dunno. I just figured that it would be nice if I didn't starve today."

Same Becca humor. "What, Mom didn't give you any money for food?" I asked as I pulled out of the driveway of their new house.

"Yeah…" Becca looked out the window. "But I still need money for…" She mumbled the last part, as if she was hoping I wouldn't hear it. "Um, candy."

"You're not blowing my money on candy!" I yelled, trying to focus on the road. "I already blow it enough for the both of us!"

"C'mon, please?" That's when she pulled it. The Face. Quivering lip, big eyes and all. Darn it, why did I ever teach her that?

"You're not six anymore, kid. The Face isn't going to work on me. I'm immune."

She quit pouting and just glared. "Well, what do you want me to do? It's not like I have a job or anything! How am I supposed to get money?"

"You could always try _getting_ a job."

"I'm _fourteen_. Who's going to hire a fourteen year old?"

"You're almost fifteen," I pointed out, stopping at a stop light. "And, really, when you're close enough to fifteen, you can get a lot of jobs at the Galleria. Besides, it's summer. Not like you have a load of schoolwork taking up all your time."

She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Why do you care so much whether I get a job or not?"

"Because I don't want you taking all my money." The light turned green and I sped up again. "I barely have any of my own."

She laughed and muttered, "Maybe if you could hold down a job, you'd have more money to share…"

I couldn't help but smile. "Very funny, sis. Now get your butt outta my car and get a job."

She looked out the window, like she hadn't known we had pulled into the mall's parking lot. Guess she was too busy trying to mooch off of me.

* * *

"Hey, babe," I greeted Nikki as I walked into the Khaki Barn.

She stopping unfolding shirts to give me a quick kiss. "Hey. Are you going to go find a new job today?"

"Naaah." I leaned against the counter. "I might just kick back and relax for a few days before I start another job hunt."

"I hope you're not expecting to mooch off of me during your little hiatus," Nikki told me, tossing a jumbled up pile of sweaters next to some mismatched socks.

"Maybe…"

"Jonesy!" She slapped me with a sock, like she was expecting it to fatally injure me. "No! You've borrowed enough money from me for the past few years to never have to work again! I'm not giving you anymore."

"Fine, Miss Frugal," I muttered. "I'll go find a stupid new job, then." I started to leave, but I turned back to her and asked, "Can you just loan me a fiver for a drink? I have some money of my own, but I'm kind of saving it for-"

A wad of socks stuffed in my mouth was her response.

* * *

"Okay, let's see what's left," I quietly said to myself as I walked around the mall. I was trying to find a store that I haven't been fired from yet.

I passed three familiar stores and muttered, "Fired from there, fired from there… I quit working at that dump."

I had to pass the toy store, the comic book store, the place that sold stuff 'As Seen on TV.' All were places I had been fired from.

"Fired from there, fired from there twice… Whoa, not even allowed within ten feet of that place." Making sure I was at least ten feet away from the mattress store, I kept walking, not seeing a single place I hadn't already been fired from yet.

Silently to myself, I asked, "Isn't there any place in this mall that I haven't been fired from?"

"There is _one_ place."

"AH!" I fell flat on my face, not expecting an answer.

"Whoa, you okay, man?" A hand helped me get back on my feet and I finally saw who is was.

"Wyatt! Don't sneak up on me like that, dude!" I dusted myself off. Man, do they ever clean these floors?

Drinking some of his coffee, he shrugged. "Sorry. I saw you pass by and I just happened to hear you talking to yourself like a psycho."

"I'm not a psycho! A lot of geniuses talk to themselves, thank you very much," I told him, crossing my arms matter-of-factly.

"I've seen your report card, man." Wyatt took another swig and added, "Trust me, you're not a genius."

"Just shut up and tell me what you were going to tell me."

We started walking and Wyatt told me, "Serena told me there's an position open at Spin This."

I stopped in my tracks. "You and _Serena_? You two still talk?"

Wyatt, obviously not happy by the way I said that, pointed out, "Just because we broke up and she humiliated me and broke my heart and sent me into a spiraling depression doesn't mean that we can't talk every once in a while."

I smirked. "Whatever, bro. You still dig her."

"Do you want the job or not?"

I smiled and shrugged. "Sounds like a sweet gig. You sure you don't mind me working with your ex?"

"Worry not. I'm totally over her." He patted me on the back and wished me luck before heading back to work.

Walking toward the East wing, where Spin This was, I thought this opportunity over. Here's to not screwing it up…

* * *

**Becca's POV**

Stupid Jonesy, not giving me money. The nerve of him.

Just kidding. I'm not that much of a brat.

But still, it's going to be hard to find a job, since I have no experience. Not to mention no résumé. But if Jonesy can do it each and every day, like he claims he has to, then it shouldn't be too hard for me, right?

I wanted to start at the store Maureen works at, since we're pretty good friends and all. Not to mention the discounts on bass guitar stuff. But working with friends can be very difficult, you know? And besides, I think she'd be my boss, since she's a year older than me. That would be kind of awkward.

The movie theater wouldn't be a bad place to start. I could always work the concession stand. Then I could gorge on candy during work with my own money.

* * *

I sat down in the hard, oak chair in front of the manager's desk. The name on his nametag read, 'Mr. Stone.' Oh, what a fitting last name it was. Not that he was made of stone or anything, but, boy, did he look like it. Gray hair, gray shirt, gray tie. Heck, even his skin had a certain gray tint to it! His chiseled facial features and sparse body movements didn't help much.

"Good morning, sir. I'm here about the job at the concession stand." I handed him the application I speedily filled out before entering and he looked it over.

His head nodded slowly in approval. "Okay, this looks promising. So…" He looked down at the application, probably to double check on my name. "… Rebeca." Mr. Stone looked back up at me. "Did you spell it with only one 'C' on purpose?" Even his voice sounds smooth as stone.

"Yes, sir," I said, politely nodding. "It's the Spanish and Portuguese spelling of the name." Actually, I wish it was the English spelling and not the weird Spanish one. It's not like it's outrageously weird, but still, every person I know named Rebecca spells it with two 'C's. Mine only has one and it bugs me. Guess I'm anal like that.

But I wasn't going to tell Mr. Stone that. He'd think I was a rambling weirdo, which I technically am. That doesn't mean he has to know it.

He nodded. "I see. So, Rebeca, when did you decide that you wanted this job?"

I wish he would just call me Becca. Using my full name makes it sound like I'm in trouble. Which I probably am, considering the last question. "Um…" I twirled a strand from one of my long pigtails and mumbled, "Ten minutes ago."

He was non-responsive, unless you count a small grunt as a response. "Why did you choose to apply for this job?"

"I like food," I told him. "I get to, like, eat during work and stuff, right?"

Mr. Stone looked less than thrilled. Crap, that was probably the wrong thing to say. "What would have to be your biggest flaw?"

"Um…" I tapped my chin and shrugged. "I guess I don't have much control when it comes to junk food. And I ramble a lot. I mean, sometimes, I just don't know when to shut up! I just go on and on and on and-"

As you can see, I tanked that one.

* * *

"What do you think it takes to be successful at this job?" the manager of the Hat's Off to You asked me. Her name tag said Marissa Marsh. She looked nice. Fingers crossed…

"Not much," I admitted, leaning back in my chair. "I mean, it's a _hat_ shop. The biggest dilemma that will happen here is that... Wait, I can't even think of a good dilemma. This is a _hat_ shop!"

Mrs. Marsh wasn't impressed, either.

* * *

"Where do I see myself in ten years?" I repeated to the girl working at Wonder Taco doing the review. Julie, I think her name was. "Well, I won't be working for minimum wage at a taco shack, that's for sure!"

* * *

The owner of Twenty-One, the adults-only dance club, looked at my application and back up at me. "How old are you again?"

"Um…" I deepened my usually high voice and answered, "Thirty seven."

I guess I wasn't very convincing.

* * *

Frilly and Pink seemed promising. I'm not extremely girly, but I do like the color pink a lot. I thought I'd fit in there just fine. The manager was pretty, if not a little… immodest. Honestly, who wears a leather midriff tube top? Not only is it trampy, but don't you think it would be uncomfortable? Oh well, that's beside the matter.

The entire interview was over, and I had actually gone through it without saying something stupid. But as I was getting ready to leave, I slipped up and asked, "I don't have to dress like you do to work here, do I? I don't really own anything that skimpy."

* * *

Sultry Subject was the next place I tried. I don't know why, since it was the complete opposite of Frilly and Pink. Plus, I could barely handle talking to Nebula. This store was full of Nebulas.

The boss, for example, had spiky purple hair, black everything and more piercings than I could count. Her name was Viper.

She was, like, Super Nebula.

Viper read over my application, then looked me over. She didn't look impressed. "Don't get offended by this, kid, but I don't think you'll fit in here."

I was actually relieved when she said that.

* * *

I thought the interview at Albatross and Finch went pretty well. That is until the girl interviewing me, Jill, I believe, ended the review by saying, "Don't call us, we won't call you, either."

The rest of the interviews were such epic failures, I can't even bring myself to describe them.

* * *

Deplorably dragging myself along, I made my way toward the ice skating rink. Jude had mentioned that he worked there. I didn't even want to apply for a job or anything. I just wanted somebody to lift my spirits, and I knew Jude was the man for the job.

The sign read 'Closed', but the door wasn't looked, so I wandered in anyway. I'm sure Jude wouldn't have minded. He doesn't seem like he'd get angry over something so little.

As I walked in, I stuffed my hands under my arms to make them feel warmer. I hate the cold. That's one of the main reasons I wouldn't want to apply for a job there.

I looked through the Plexiglas and saw Jude, riding one of those giant Zambonis on the ice. He had his headphones on, so he must have been listening to music. I knocked on the glass hardly to get his attention. His tunes must not have been cranked up that high, because he could hear me tapping and looked over at me. Smiling, I took one of my hands out from under my pits and gave him a little wave. He grinned back and stopped the machine, hopping off and sliding toward the ice rink exit. I was impressed that he didn't fall flat on his face. I know I would have.

Walking over to where I was, he slid his headphones down around his neck and smiled. "What's up, dudette?"

"Just wanted to hang. I'm a little bummed," I replied, starting to shiver a little. "Jude, how can you stay in here without a jacket or anything?"

"You get used to it," he answered, shrugging. "If you're cold, we can go somewhere else to hang. It might harsh your mellow even more if you stay here."

"Don't you have to work?"

"Nah, I went on break, like, ten minutes ago."

As I rubbed my arms to keep what little body heat I had left, I gave him a look. "Then why were you riding the Zamboni around?"

"I just do that when I'm bored. Have you ever ridden one of those things? It's awesome!"

All I did was giggle. That sounded like _such_ a Jude response…

* * *

"Tell Doctor Jude what's got you so bummed."

I stopped stirring my Mango Tango smoothie and looked up at him. He had been silent since we had gotten to the Banana Shack, so I just naturally quieted down, too. I guess he was just trying to think of what to say. "Well, Jonesy suggested I get a job so I can make some spending money. It's the only sensible idea he's had in years, so I wasn't going to ignore it." I took a long sip and sighed. "But I tanked all of my interviews. Wouldn't that bum you out?"

Jude drank some of his Chunky Monkey and shrugged. "Not really. Same thing happened to me when I first wanted a job."

"Really?"

He nodded and said, "Yeah, you wouldn't believe the stupid things I said!" He chuckled and propped his feet up on the table we were sitting at. "Asked this one lady interviewing me when her baby was due." He took a ten second sip and added, "She wasn't pregnant."

I couldn't help but giggle. "Nice."

"But look at me now! I've got my dream job." Jude started counting off things. "I set my own hours, I ride that wicked Zamboni, and I can go sock skating any time I want!"

"That sounds nice…." I mused, stirring my drink with my straw.

"All you have to do is keep trying." He sucked the last bit of drink out of his cup and tossed it behind his back in the direction of a nearby trashcan, missing it. I really wanted to go over and pick it up and throw it away, but Jude might think I'm an obsessive compulsive neat freak. Which I am. "Something will come along sooner or later."

Wow. He was right. Who knew Jude was so… smart?

"Thanks, Jude. For everything." I gave him a small grin.

"No problemo, Becca," he said, grinning back.

I looked back to the stand where we got our drinks, my smile disappearing. "Can we leave now, Jude? I don't really want to be here, anymore."

Kicking his feet off the table, he nodded. "Sure. Why?"

Bashfully looking down at my lap, I muttered, "The Banana Shack is one of the places that rejected me…"

* * *

**Caitlin's POV **

**(Last one, I promise)**

Working at the Big Squeeze was really boring today. But it's always pretty mind-numbing, so it's not like I thought today was going to be some kind of exception.

I heard panting and looked to see Jonesy racing toward me like a mad man. He must either be really excited to see me, or just really, really thirsty.

Sliding up to me, Jonesy leaned on the counter and, using his finger, popped the bubble I was blowing with my gum. Aw, man. That was the biggest bubble I had blown in a while, too. "One Lemon Frosty, milady."

Shoving the magazine I was reading aside and getting his drink ready, I smiled and commented, "Ooooh, you always get one of those whenever you get a new job. Where's it at?"

"Spin This," he answered, taking his usual seat at the table. "You're looking at the new manager of the pop section."

"Pop?" I asked with a giggle. "Let me guess, you're hoping to meet some girls?"

"Actually, it was the only position open…" Jonesy crossed my arms and glared at me. "Do you seriously think I would cheat on Nikki?"

"Oh, calm down." I hopped out of the Lemon and sat down next to him, handing him his Frosty. "I'm just teasing with you." Taking off my hideous lemon hat, I placed it in front of me on the table. "Consider it the last Lemon Frosty you'll ever have made by me."

"What?!" Jonesy looked at me, mouth agape. "You're quitting? Again?! Don't you remember what happened last time?"

I rolled my eyes. "Please, I'm still trying to forget. Jonesy, it's time for me to move on, to get away from this lackluster job. I've been the 'Lemon Head' for the past two years and I'm sick of it!"

He calmed down, nodding understandingly. "Yeah, I guess if I had your job, I would want to quit, too. I probably would have purposely gotten myself fired…" Sucking on his drink, he calmed down and asked me, "Where are you going to work, then?"

"I applied to that new Portelli purse store a few days ago. They called me this morning and told me I got the job." I could still see that he was still worried, so I added, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hire another Katie, promise. I've already got a nice girl lined up for an interview tomorrow. She looks promising. The rest of the gang was pretty worried, too, but I'll bet she's-"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Jonesy yelled, looking offended. How did that offend him? "You already told the others before you told me?" Oh. That must be why he looked so upset.

"Sorry!" I apologized, cringing. "They were all here and you must have been at your interview or something, so… Well, I couldn't wait any longer and I was going to tell you the next time I saw you, which is now!"

"Fine, fine. Whatever you say…" He still didn't look much happier. I had to change the subject somehow.

"So, when do you start at Spin This?"

Looking nonchalantly at the clock nearby, he nearly choked on his drink. "Oh, man! My first shift starts in five minutes!" He dug around in his pocket and threw some money at me. "Gotta go! Thanks for the drink!" With that, he ran off to start yet another job he was bound to be fired from.

I picked the bill up and gasped when I looked at it. "Twenty bucks?" Giggling, I squealed, "Sweet!"

I'm sure Jonesy meant to give me a five dollar bill and accidentally gave me the twenty. _Or_, he saw how hard I was working and though I deserved a nice, fifteen dollar tip.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

"Hey, Caitlin."

Stuffing the money in my apron pocket, I saw that Jude and Becca just got there. I smiled and stood up. "Hey, guys! What's up?"

"Not much," Becca replied, sitting next to me in Jonesy's chair. She looked kind of tired. I don't know why, though.

"I'm helping our young dudette here de-stress herself." Jude pulled up a chair next to Becca and started rubbing her back. "She's had a hard day." Becca moaned in relief at Jude's gentle massaging. I couldn't blame her for the goofy, yet serene look that had just grown on her face. Jude gives a mean massage.

"Really? What hap-" Before I could finish, I gasped and realized that I had forgotten something. "Oh, my gosh! What time is it?"

"Um…" Becca looked at her watch and answered, "It's almost noon. Why?"

"Oh, no! I'm late!" Flinging myself over the counter of the Lemon, I frantically grabbed my purse and explained, "There's a huge sale at Aerogram and it starts at noon. I don't want to miss out on the first pick of the new scoop neck tees!"

"Oh. And I guess that'd be bad, right?" Jude muttered, looking confused at my excitement.

Becca looked back and saw how confused he looked. Smiling, she told him, "It's a girl thing."

"If you say so." He shrugged. "I was kinda hoping we could hang with you, but if you're busy, that's cool."

"Aww…" I actually felt bad about leaving them. Becca looked like she needed a friend. Sure, we hadn't known each other for even twenty four hours yet, but she seemed like she'd be a nice person to be friends with. Besides, due to my admittedly nosy personality, I was really curious as to what had gotten her so upset in the first place. "You guys know you're free to join me, if you want."

"No, it's cool," Jude insisted, holding a hand up. "I have another plan up my sleeve." Motioning for Becca to get up, he told me, "We'll be by the fountain if anyone needs us."

"The fountain? Jude, what are we-" Before Becca could finish, Jude yanked her away, speeding toward the middle of the mall.

"Okay, bye!" I yelled, waving goodbye as I headed in the opposite direction. Normally, I would have asked Jude what he was up to, but there was no time for that.

Forty percent off pintuck henleys were calling me, and I just had to answer.

* * *

Wheeee, another chapter :3

And if you want to read an equally awesome, if not better (which it probably is, but I'm trying not to bash myself too much) fic, I suggest you read Drum Lines and Grip Tape. I'd link it, but the stupid document manager thing won't let me, for some reason :P

It's possibly one of the best 6teen fics here and Speciosus Nihilum is also a great artist. Check out her Deviantart page! Do it. NOW.

Hopefully, you all have read it by now. If not, shame on you. :P


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